Sailing and similar activities are among the simplest, oldest and most direct applications of
wind power. Mechanical uses of wind power go back to ancient Greece. The first wind wheels, for
example, relied upon gearing and shafts to power machinery. Windmills drive a millstone to grind
grains, among other purposes. Wind has also long been used to power mechanical pumps to draw water
for use and to drain land for agricultural purposes.

The basic wind turbine design
consists of a bladed rotor that drives a shaft to a generator. The generator uses
electromagnetic induction to produce a voltage. Wind power was used to enable electrolysis,
the separation of water into hydrogen and oxygen, to make it possible to store energy as early as
the 1890s.

Today, small-scale wind turbines for individual use generally have a maximum output of 400-1600
watts. In contrast, the
largest industrial turbines might generate as much as 7.5 megawatts. Groupings of turbines are
known as wind farms or wind
parks.

Although windmills are still in use, wind turbines have become more common as the interest in renewable energy increases.

- Resistance is the opposition that a substance offers to the flow of electric current; the term contrasts with conductance, which is a measure of the ease with which current flows through a substance. (WhatIs.com)

- This WhatIs.com glossary contains terms related to Internet applications, including definitions about Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery models and words and phrases about web sites, e-commerce ...

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